The Little Devil in Her Ear
by LitLover 101
Summary: Some journeys follow a straight road. Whereas others end on roads we aren't expecting. Whether we chose to stay or return home defines who we are and who we would like to be. Part of my Klaroline one-shot series.


Some journeys follow a straight road. Whereas others end on roads we aren't expecting. Whether we chose to stay or return home defines who we are and who we would like to be. Part of my Klaroline one-shot series.

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries TV show. That honor goes to Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson. **

**Hello, my lovely readers. Okay, here is my take on what Caroline's and Enzo's trip to Atlanta to find the latest doppleganer would look like. On with the show…**

**The Little Devil in Her Ear:**

She knew that being stuck on this mission was a bad idea. Shifting her head to an angle so that she could peer at the vampire beside her without giving away that she was examining him seemed reasonable enough. Stupid. Evil. Accented vampire. He was reminding her of someone who she had stripped the pants off of not so long ago. But those thoughts were safely tucked in a drawer in the back of her head.

Then her companion began to whistle and she lost it. "Could you just stop that? Please!" She could hear the hostility in her own voice and cursed herself internally. The man grinned but said nothing. Caroline glowered at him from her position in the passenger seat of the car. She had turned her head to stare out the window.

Why was she even doing this? Huh! Oh! Yeah! Because Stefan's life depended upon her. She had to help Enzo, shifting her head again, Caroline narrowed her eyes to slits and wished she could set him on fire like Bonnie could with her mind before she lost all that witchy mojo. Caroline would take pleasure in seeing Damon's pal go up in flames beside her. Then she would never have to hear his stupid accent. The one that reminded her of the other…

Feeling her lips twist upward in a smile that held only the malice that she felt she envisioned Enzo bursting into flames and desperately trying to get out of the car. But, wait, that's funny, the door seemed to be jammed. How was that possible? Oh, well. Seems the driver was about to turn into a big pile of ash. Now, he was turning to Caroline and begging her to help him. And all at once he was not Enzo, he was Klaus, and Caroline's smile dropped and she felt horrified.

As quickly as an image of a burning Klaus appeared in front of her it disappeared and Enzo reappeared. "Is there something wrong, Caroline?" he asked with a grin.

Shaking her head, wordlessly Caroline looked out the windshield of the car. She had to accept what she had promised she would do. After so many years that she had refused to kill, she had willingly agreed to kill Stefan's doppleganger. If she were honest with herself it was a relief. As she told Tyler. It was just so hard to be good all the time. Now, she could relax and do what instinct was pushing her to do. She was a vampire. Vampires kill as Damon would say. Wait, did she just quote Damon freakin' Salvatore? No, that could not be right. She could not be becoming more like Damon.

Or maybe it was not Damon she was afraid to be more like. Maybe it was him. Klaus. She was terrified of Klaus because they were the same. His words echoed through her head and she could almost feel his presence as she heard him telling her once more that they were the same. No, she was determined that he was wrong. They were nothing alike. She was not a monster. This man had to die so that Stefan could live. But Klaus would say that she was fooling herself.

Klaus had not been there when she had made her first kill or her second and third. However, he had been there when she killed those twelve witches. He had even buried the bodies because she was too confused. Too horrified to think let alone go about the act of hiding the evidence of her crime. Then he had refused her comfort because she had hurt him. Told him that he was wrong and that he was not worthy of her affection. As always his pride caused him to push back rather than to hold on to her for dear life.

Now, Klaus would not be there to bury the body for her. Nor would he be there to hold her after the killing was done. Staring out the window feeling ice fill her stomach, Caroline began to clench and unclench her fists. Feeling her nails dig into the skin she barely noticed the blood that spilled outward over her palms and under her fingernails.

"Do you mind not doing that?" Enzo called, forcing Caroline away from her thoughts.

"Huh?" Caroline replied, feeling like she was awaking from a drug induced semi-coma.

Enzo looked at her bloody hands. "The blood is making me peekish. So, if you could stop that it would be appreciated."

Rolling her eyes, Caroline stopped digging her finger nails into her hands. "Why don't you just stop and eat one of the locals. Then you won't have to worry about what I do and get a little peace."

"I haven't even been talking, But if you would like me to, I think I could arrange something for you," Enzo grinned again and Caroline wanted to punch that smug look right off of his face. It was like being with a combination of Damon and Klaus. Only she liked Damon and Klaus better than she liked this annoying knockoff.

"What's wrong with you, Goldilocks? Are you missing your Original?" Enzo inquired and the smirk told Caroline that he thought the whole thing was quite amusing although he didn't know a damn thing about her and probably didn't know a thing about Klaus either.

"Go to hell, Enzo," Caroline snarled.

"Oh, I see I hit a nerve. Well, if it is the infamous Niklaus Mikaelson that you're craving we could always swing by NOLA on the way back and you can get a pick me up before we head back to Boring Falls," Enzo declared, cocking his head to take in the road and Caroline at the same time.

"Why would you do that?" Caroline snapped. "We have to go kill the doppleganger and then we're supposed to go back. Period. Other than that I have exams to prepare for."

"Why do you even bother with the façade of going to college anyway? From the way that Damon tells it Klaus is head over bleeding heels in love with you and would do anything for you. Why if you could be with someone that would cares for you and wants you to be happy would you want to waste your time dallying away in some cesspool of so-called higher learning?"

"My friends are there," Caroline snapped. "I know this may be weird for you since your only friend in the last fifty years happened to leave you to die in a burning cell but my friends and I are actually loyal to each other. I would not leave them anymore than they would me."

Enzo began to chuckle and then he began to laugh aloud, causing the car to swerve dangerously. Caroline grabbed the wheel. Although a crash would not kill them she knew that if it was bad enough then there would be questions about where the bodies went when the car was found totaled and should contain dead bodies. Or better yet there would be someone who would pull over and they would have to compel the person. She just wanted to get the killing over and done with and get the hell out of Atlanta.

"Oh, Caroline. You have got a lot to learn. Good thing we still have a few more hours to fill up," Enzo told her as he took the wheel again. "Here is a life lesson. Trust me you will thank me for this one day." Glaring at him, Caroline waited for Enzo to try to knock her out and fling her from the car but he simply continued to talk. "When you are a kid you think that you have these people in your life and they'll be there forever. But then people die. They decide that they want to see the world and move away. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes they don't. At some point you have to make up your mind. Are you the small town girl or do you want to see the world? Because once you set off things will never be the same. When you come back home things will not be what they used to be."

Shifting in her seat, Caroline was once again reminded of Klaus. "Mark my words, Caroline. This small town boy. This small town life. Will not be enough for you." Then Klaus was walking out of the decade dance and Caroline thought out of her life for good. But he wasn't. And then one day he was. Or at least he said he would not come back. Not that Klaus was known for being a man of his word. He would find a loophole or a random excuse to come back. Caroline was sure that he would. But was she ready to sit around and wait for him?

Caroline was really not the sit around and wait for anyone or anything to come her way. She was not the girl she had once been. The girl who was so insecure that it would take five minutes worth of what she mistook for affection in the back of some drunken teenage boy's backseat. She did not need others to validate her or for her friends to say "Yes, Caroline, you made the right decision. Good for you." Although a little support went a long way. And that is why she was doing this. Because Stefan did not judge her. He supported her even when she was terrified that she had done something horrible.

"You have to grow up at some point, Caroline," Enzo was saying. "Make the hard decisions and accept that those are yours and yours alone because your friends are not going to live your life. And life is long when you're a vampire. Loneliness will take hold even with your close knit mates all around you because they will have their little lives and their little dramas. Who will be there to listen to you then?"

Feeling irritated once more, Caroline moved so that she facing Enzo. "What would you know about having someone to listen to other than the four walls of your cell?" That was cruel but Caroline was done with trying to be civil to this vampire who thought he had any right to lecture her on her life decisions. Any friend of Damon's was not a friend of hers.

Enzo simply nodded. "Yes, I suppose that you would think that. But you know even crazy lab rat vampires sometimes get reprieves. I had a young nurse who would listen to me while I was playing the vampire guinea pig for the likes of the Augustine group. She was kind and listened to my wild ramblings. Maybe that's why Klaus liked you. He thought you would listen to him?"

Smiling in spite of herself, Caroline started to say that Klaus preferred to listen to her. It was funny though. Klaus certainly did like to talk a lot but with her it was different. He wanted to listen… Strange the way that he always seemed to find a way to give her what she needed even when she didn't know she needed it. "Yeah, maybe," was all Caroline said.

"We're here," Enzo said and got out of the car. Caroline got out beside him and felt the dread take over once again. She did not want to be here. She did not want to do this. All she wanted to do was go back home but she had promised that she would go and help. "Could you go and get us a cup of coffee first?" Enzo called before flicking his gaze toward Caroline but she could tell he was not really paying attention to her anymore.

Blowing out a long breath, Caroline walked into the diner and headed toward the counter. Then she felt the sensation of eyes on her and looked around but there was no one there. Her phone rang in her pocket. Opening it, Caroline was mildly aware of the feeling of being watched once more but decided to answer the call. "I knew you wouldn't be able to do this, Caroline," Enzo was saying without allowing her to speak. "I am going to finish him off myself. Have a nice cuppa with your lover," and with that he hung up and Caroline was left wondering what the hell.

Spinning around, Caroline's eyes landed on the booth across from her that had been empty but now contained Klaus Mikaelson whose legs were crossed as he sat sideways in the booth. "Hello, Caroline. Have you missed me, love?"

Without caring what people in the dinner thought, Caroline walked over and flopped on top of Klaus, pressing her lips to his in a happy greeting. "Ahem, would you two like to order or would you like a room at the local motel?" a waitress grunted from behind them.

Klaus responded when Caroline pulled back. "We need to look at the menu. But she would like a cup of your coffee. She's going to have long day," Klaus told the woman and as she was walking away, Klaus whispered into Caroline's ear. "And a very long night." Laughing, Caroline started to climb off of Klaus and move to the other side of the booth when Klaus caught her arm. "Stay," he murmured, pressing his lips to her ear making her shiver.

"Okay," Caroline whispered to him. Pressing her lips to his again she felt excitement spreading through her body. She couldn't wait to get out of this diner and to be alone with Klaus. As bad as it was she hoped that Enzo did not come for her too soon. She really wanted to spend as much time with Klaus as she could before they left Atlanta. "Shouldn't you be off torturing some poor people in New Orleans?"

Klaus smiled widely. "I would be there but someone texted me several hours ago and said you were in over your head and that you needed me. I thought it was a trap to be honest. It isn't, is it?"

Caroline shook her head. "No. I am supposed to help kill someone to keep Stefan safe."

Shaking his head, Klaus looked confused. "That does not sound like you, love. Now, why don't you tell me who it is that you were supposed to kill?" He could tell that she was trying to keep something from him.

"A doppleganger," Caroline told him, watching his expression change to one of interest. "Not that kind of doppleganger. It turns out that Stefan was a doppleganger of Silas and there was one of Stefan. The people who have Stefan wanted me to kill the doppleganger of Stefan."

"Oh, well, that is not complicated at all," Klaus told her and then grinned when Caroline shook her head at his unfortunate idea of what was funny. "Come, now, love, as much as I love the idea of there being more than one Stefan we must make peace with the demise of this man to keep our friend safe."

"Uh huh," Caroline said when the coffee cup was set down in front of her and the waitress walked off without bothering to ask them if they wanted anything else. "But it is wrong, Klaus. He didn't do anything to deserve this."

"I know, Caroline," Klaus told her and she looked up and saw that he meant what he said. "Now, would you like some comfort, sweetheart?" Nodding, Caroline felt satisfied when Klaus pulled out his wallet and threw a hundred on the table. They walked out hand in hand. Moving quickly across the road they rented a room. It probably wasn't up to Klaus' standards but the last time they were together had been in the woods. At least this time they had a bed.

Walking into the room with Klaus close on her heels, Caroline felt a thrill surge through her. Even if it were only for a few hours she did not have to think about school, her friends' opinions or being a good little girl. Turning around, Caroline leapt into Klaus' arms wrapping her own arms and legs around his shoulders and waist. Wasting no time, Klaus sped them over to the bed and began to undress her.

Pulling Klaus' shirt over his head and yanking his belt free from his pants, Caroline smiled happily at the naked flesh on display. Unzipping his pants she stared into Klaus' eyes for a moment thinking about how little time they really had together. What did she want to know about his activities in New Orleans? Did she actually want to know about what he was doing down there? No. Not right now.

Entangling her hands in Klaus' hair, Caroline pulled him down and felt the reassuring presence of his arms wrapping around her back as they moved together slowly unlike last time. This time they were going to take the time to devour these hours together that seemed far too fleeting. Pressing her lips more fervently to Klaus', Caroline sighed feeling her body responding to the rhythm of their combined needs being fulfilled by the contact of bare flesh. Rolling on top of Klaus, Caroline began to run her mouth down his neck and over his chest. She could feel his hands running through her hair and she did not want to let go of him but she knew that she would have to. Their time was limited.

Suddenly swinging their bodies around and up against the wall behind them Klaus' hand appeared above Caroline's head and his eyes began to search hers. "Come back to New Orleans with me?" he murmured, pressing his hips into hers and making her groan.

"I can't," Caroline moaned, staring at him regretfully as he closed his eyes. "Not yet. Please, give me more time," Caroline whispered, pressing kisses to his eyelids. "I'm not saying no. I'm saying not yet. Please, understand. Please, Klaus."

When Klaus reopened his eyes she was begging him with her own. Sometimes there were things that were more important than what you wanted even with the little devil whispering into your ear and his words were so seductive that you wanted to agree. But you couldn't because that was not who you were. No more than she could kill Stefan's doppleganger. At least not yet. She was still clinging desperately to remnants of her humanity. "Alright," Klaus whispered but Caroline could see his disappointment in his eyes.

Hours later, Caroline opened her bag and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and top that she brought with her in case she got blood on her clothes. Klaus walked with her to the diner where Enzo was waiting. Klaus caught Caroline by the elbow and kissed her gently on the lips while Enzo turned his head to give them some privacy. "Good-bye, Caroline," Klaus muttered and then disappeared before she could reply.

Getting into the car with Enzo, Caroline tried to not be bothered by the scent and sight of blood on Enzo's clothes and shoes that a human would not notice but she could. Wrapping her arms around herself, Caroline tried to not cry for many different reasons as she stared out the window. "Did you get everything you needed from that little visit?" Enzo called from his side of car.

"Yes," Caroline told him but she knew the hoarseness in her voice told another story. She brushed away a stray tear as they drove farther away from the little bit of comfort she had felt lately and the horror of what had transpired while she was closing her eyes to shut out the world. One day Caroline thought that she would become accustomed to how fleeting happiness and life were. However, that day would not be today. Today, she refused to reconcile that this was how things were. If only for a day.

**This story was a bit melancholy but I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. Thanks for reading, faving, following and for reviewing. **

**Peace,**

**LL**


End file.
